7. Actually, that is a brilliant summation of the problem.

"Christofascist hyper individualism".... nice .... yet how do we fit in the simultaneous desire to be lead by low wage-bestowing corporations like Walmart? The authoritarianism impulse would seem to run counter to the hyper individualism...

14. Everyone has someone(s) "lesser" to despise, and in turn everyone is despised by their betters?

30. Oh, that's where Leo Strauss and the neocons come in.

The christofascist hyper individualism only applies to the tiny number of individuals who control the secrets of history, and share a total lack of concern for the suffering of mere mortals. A central tenet of Straussian theory is that ancient history is deliberately presented incorrectly so that the peons will always take the wrong lesson away from the story. But a careful student can find a very, very sociopathic alternative truth behind most of it.

The hyperconservative message itself is wonderfully Straussian, isn't it? Pull yourself up to success with the help of God, in lock step with a like-minded group of others and then retire into untouchable wealth. It worked perfectly for Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Wolfowitz, who probably siphoned unknown trillions of undocumented defense money through the World Bank and into their own pockets. Do any of them actually live in the US anymore?

The punchline is that the theory actually worked, but the lesson was for them alone! All the suckers who bought the same line and made it all possible for the neocons have suffered the same fate as everyone else. Their chances of success are even lower than when they started, thanks to continuing to ruthlessly apply the stupid lessons even after they were fleeced. What we define as "authoritarianism" is what actual authoritarians define as "individualism," so they're being good Nazis and trying like hell to grow the fleece back on the sheep.

The next recipients of outrageous good christofascist fortune are all about forcing labor below a living wage, so that people are desperate enough to do professional labor at ten bucks an hour. Then they don't have to run complex market collapses and property grabs; the peons just hand over the wealth they create directly to their masters. Then they'll piss on us and tell us its trickle-down at work.

11. I think so, too. They'll be so glad to welcome us back because it means trump will be gone

from what affects THEM, too.

They're probably already desperate for a new American president. Hopefully we Americans generally have built up enough good will over the decades that they'll be forgiving. When we're finally in full remission from this fucking CANCER!!!!!

19. I had this argument with a republican...

... friend (who does not like Trump) at dinner last night. He said when Trump is gone, our allies will return.

I think it’s not at all that simple. They know what he is and how he came to be. They know who has helped him get there and who has turned a blind eye to his treachery. The entire Republican Party is complicit in this disaster, and it remains still one of the two major political parties in the US - and happens also to be the one with most of the $ driven policies. Are they supposed to believe that, after the Orange shitgibbon is gone, the core Republican Party will abandon its agenda and not use its resources to try and re-Trump?

They would be fools to trust us as before when we are just a reality show carnival barker away from going off the rails again. Wouldn’t you keep us at arms length? The damage he is doing will have repercussions for decades.

25. He also comes 8 years after W

People of bride were taken aback when we elected w. They saw him is simple-minded and impetuous. He wasn't nearly as overtly antagonistic and did handle himself with a proper degree of decorum. But world leaders still had to work around him. And the general sense was we would get our act together when he was gone.

We made good for 8 years with BHO, but then quadruple times 100 down with 45. It's now a trend, and quite honestly representative of where this country is. We no longer can be trusted.

35. They also know the hand that Putin had in making all this happen

It's not just the vagaries of American politics, it's international subterfuge. Our allies know it could easily happen to them too. It already has to a certain extent.

When Trump is finally gone for good, it will mean the good guys won (hopefully!). So the good guys will have a very big job to do cleaning up the mess he/they have made. We need to rebuild our democracy & government, strengthen our Constitution and renew friendships with our allies. If we don't have the will do to all of this, then America can't be saved.

37. It is impossible to converse with present Republican Party let alone compromise.

The entirety of the Republican Party has created a situation in which they have demonized the Democratic as evil, immoral bastards and not true Americans. They and they alone are real honest Americans. The Republican Party has embraced the most radical elements of our society ranging from hyper gun enthusiasts with a corrupt interpretation of the Second Amendment, extreme religious factions who are intent on establishing a virtual theocracy, absolute racists, enemies of the free press who dare challenge their extremism and a habitual lying president who has absolute no understanding or respect for the Constitution and separation of powers and is intent on establishing a authoritarian presidency.

41. Agreed. They are allies, but they have their own national interests to consider.

History has taught that when you are the most powerful nation, you can certainly have allies, and good ones at that, but the reality of the world is that countries are often looking at things from their own self interest. When Great Britain was the indispensable empire, she had allies in France, Russia, etc... and they fought along side her in wars, but when there was an opportunity to grow or get something at the expense of the Empire, those countries took their small part. The US surpassed Britain during the time after WWI and certainly after the devastation of WW2. The US Dollar became the global currency standard replacing the Pound and the US became the global financial leader. We have rivals like China and India, and enemies like Russia, but we also have allies like France, Britain, etc... who would like to see their currency become the global reserve currency and if the US is digging its own grave, none of those countries are going to sacrifice their own interests to save the US.

12. Appeal to their conservatism

That's small "c" conservatism.

Look at the "NEW" dangerous path we're headed down. (Ominous lonely road footage)
He's trashing our friends. (B-roll of Canadian and U.S. citizens embracing)
He's "pal-ing" around with terrorists and murderers. (Sinister shots of Kim and Putin)
He's throwing away decades of bipartisan policy that over the previous 70 years established the U.S. as THE global leader in trade and diplomacy. (Shots of FDR and Truman, Eisenhower in uniform, Reagan at the Berlin Wall, Carter with Sadat and Begin, Obama receiving the Nobel Prize)
The federal deficit has hit its highest mark since early 2009, when Obama inherited the crashed Bush economy. (Chart showing deficit growth since January 2017)
Inflation has begun to grow at a rate that has wiped out any wage gains you may have made. (Trend line showing how wages have stagnated and now are dropping)
THIS HAS TO STOP. NOW. (Whatever "stop" imagery you can imagine over Trump)

23. That's a keen observation. I have thought ...

... for a while that his policies are driving away many senior voters because they kind of pay attention to the ripple effect his garbage wrangling has on their lives. He is becoming more and more dependent upon only the straight up racist haters - the deplorables. They are identified often by your apt description - but make no mistake that many come wrapped in sheep’s clothing. I know more than just a few professionals who tow that line in relative secret.

6. Nicely said, editorial board

Now, what's say you let your news reporters know about these rather obvious facets of the Trump administration's modus operandi? It appears that none of this is news to Kim Jong-un, our putative allies in the Group of 7, or any other observers on the planet. Yet the readers of your news stories never get a whiff of this defensiveness, petulance, and toadying by Trump and his administration.

38. The problem is that they were, for the most part, ignored by TV MSM.

There were voices that spoke out but they were insignificant to the silence of the major TV networks where unfortunately the massive majority of citizens get their information. The most important aspect is the false equivalency policy that has been adopted by the TV media in which Republicans were granted a forum to spread outright lies without any challenge. Couple this with the dominance of the extreme right wing radio and FOX News and you have a formable enemy of truth. It is ironic that the monster that the Republicans created with their killing the Fairness Doctrine and unrestricted ownership of radio stations has made them a captive of their own doing. They are locked into a position in which they dare not diverse from their message of hatred leaving no room for compromise.

22. He'll do whatever he can get away with and no amount of well deserved words

will change that.

It's an accurate and well worded statement. It's especially dead on about his being on the defensive and how people on the defensive sometimes behave. He knew he was in trouble so he picked a fight.

If Trump stabs you with an ice pick and you cry out - and people call his action wrong - Trump doesn't stop - he drives the ice pick in deeper and laughs - wanting the cries of alarm to turn into screams of agony - and for the people complaining to complain louder.

He's still getting to stab you and it's pissing off the people he wants to piss off. Unless and until someone stops him - he'll keep stabbing and laughing.

Hey, it makes for headlines and they always spell his name correctly. That means more to Trump than all the cries and complaints put together.

But he'll take what he can get - and he'll keep taking it until he is stopped.

29. Sadly, the USA is no longer the leader of the free world

As evidenced by events occurring just within the past seven days, we have become an extension of the Russian Federation. A puppet of Vladimir Putin.

From the atrocities against immigrant families, to the abuse of our friends and allies, to the open and public embrace of one of the worst despots our world has seen in recent years, the role of “Leader of the Free World” now belongs to another country.
This is exactly what Putin and his oligarchs have fervently desired, and the RepubliCONs are handing it to them on a silver platter, because they’re too afraid to openly oppose the ideologue who occupies the Oval Office (I can’t tell you how much it pains me to describe that shit-stain on our history in those terms).

Whether it’s the UK, Germany or Canada that ascends to that role, we shall soon see.

Meanwhile, we’ve descended — like a rock through a wet paper bag — into a despotic regime.

PLEASE, Get the vote out!

I have family in other countries and the means to repatriate. Most other US citizens do not have these same options.